The consequences of Sonia Gandhi becoming what the French call the eminence grise -- one who controls everything from behind the scenes -- for India are not only visible for all those who care to look, but also have far-reaching -- and maybe irreversible -- consequences.

Occultism, in the ancient sense, was the manipulation of forces which cannot be seen, but which constantly clash in the world.

One could say politics is the art of controlling these forces, overtly and covertly. At the top, great leaders create their own occultism. Their very presence generates certain atmospheres, which make or unmake revolutions.

At the outset, one should first say the world is not Black and White, Good and Evil, Superman versus the Bad Guys, as the Americans would like us to believe.

Hindu groups need not demonise Sonia Gandhi.

She probably was a good wife to Rajiv Gandhi, a good daughter-in-law to Indira Gandhi. And by all accounts she is a good mother to her children, judging by the way they dote on her.

One also hears first-hand reports about her concern for smaller people, her dignity in the suffering that befell her when her husband was blown to pieces, and her courtesy with visitors.

That said, what is happening in India at the moment makes me profoundly uneasy.

I am a Westerner and a born Christian. Yet, I find it absurd that in a country of one billion people -- one of the most ancient civilisations of this world -- Indians cannot find an Indian to govern themselves.

There are many good and talented people within the Congress. And one wonders what is this unconscious, occult urge that makes them look up to someone, who, however well-meaning, is alien to their culture.

Let us first look at the visible, overt consequences of Sonia Gandhi's supreme leadership.

Pervez Musharraf is a clever magician. Nobody in India has found anything to confirm that he is actually holding talks with the Hurriyat leaders, who want Kashmir to separate from India and most likely go to Pakistan.

There is in India an obsession and a fear of a small country that has lost the four wars it initiated with India.

Then, most dangerous of all, we have Nepal.

Because of the intense pressure of India's Communists, India is pushing the king of Nepal into China's arms (Beijing just delivered 25 trucks of weapons to Nepal) and Pakistan, which is opening consular posts everywhere.

If Nepal is taken over by the Maoists, India will be surrounded by three intensely hostile entities: Tibet (under China), Nepal and the valley of Kashmir, which Pakistan wants by force or guile. All of these are on a height, which gives tremendous strategic advantage.

Dr Singh keeps praising China, but there is no doubt that Beijing is New Delhi's deadliest enemy. It does not need to fight a war, as it is invading India with cheap products, encircling India by making deals with hostile nations, beating India in the energy sector and quietly blocking India's entry into the United Nations Security Council.

Is Sonia aware of all this? If she is, then she does not act in India's best interests.

Let's come to the covert, occult signs.

I am a little uneasy when I see how much Christianity is taking over India under the reign of Sonia Gandhi.

According to the 2001 census, there are about 2.34 million Christians in India; not even 2.5 per cent of the nation, a negligible amount.

Yet, there are today five Christian chief ministers in Nagaland, Mizoram, Meghalaya, Kerala and Andhra Pradesh.

I share with Sonia a love for India. Like her, I have lived in this country for over 30 years. Like her, I have married an Indian.

But nevertheless, since she is at the top, Christian conversions in India seem to have gone into overdrive.

More than 4,000 foreign Christian missionaries are involved in conversion activities across different states. In Tripura, there were no Christians at Independence; there are 120,000 today, a 90 per cent increase since 1991.

The figures are even more striking in Arunachal Pradesh, where there were only 1,710 Christians in 1961, but 1.2 million today, as well as 780 churches!

In Andhra Pradesh, churches are coming up every day in far-flung villages and there was even an attempt to set up one near Tirupati.

Many northeast separatist movements are not only Christian dominated, but sometimes function with the covert backing of the missionaries.

In Kerala, particularly in the poor coastal districts, you find 'miracle boxes' in local churches. The gullible villager writes out a paper mentioning his wish: A fishing boat, a loan for a pucca house, fees for the son's schooling, etc. And a few weeks later, the miracle happens!

Of course, the whole family converts, making others in the village follow suit.

During the tsunami, entire Dalit villages in Tamil Nadu were converted to Christianity with the lure of money.

Then there is this rapid Westernisation of India.

There are good things in the West -- its material consciousness, care for nature, logical mind -- but it is nevertheless in crisis. Its Church is in disarray, three marriages out of five end in divorce and some children need to go to psychiatrists before they start shooting other children.

Yet, if you have a look at most of the mainstream English-speaking Indian magazines and newspapers today, you will notice that all their cover stories deal with Western concepts, that they are looking at India from a Western point of view, such as talking about 'New Age' spirituality.

As if spirituality is new to India!

You will notice that there is never any reference to India's great past, or to India's philosophy, or medicine -- which, by the way, is becoming fashionable in the West.

Brinda Karat went after Swami Ramdev and Ayurveda, the oldest medical system still in practice in the world, although she did not get much support.

Notice also that when the Shankaracharya of Kanchi is arrested, a section of the Indian intelligentsia applauds, though he has still not been proven guilty.

And that when a new Pope is elected in Rome, we get in India hours of live coverage and countless cover stories.

The occult effect of it is that nobody realises that in a country of 850 million Hindus, you have now a Sikh prime minister -- when Sikhs constitute only 2 per cent of the country's population; a Muslim President -- when Muslims make up 10 per cent of India; a Communist Speaker in Parliament -- when Communism is moribund the world over; and a Western and Christian supreme leader, when Westerners constitute only 0.0001 per cent of India and Christians 3 per cent.

Where are the poor Hindus?

What will happen if India becomes enough Westernised at the social level, Christianised and Islamised at the religious level and taken over by the Marxists at the intellectual level?

Not only will India lose its unique soul and just become another Western clone in the developing world, but the earth will lose something very precious.

It will lose an ancient knowledge, a irreplaceable way of being, which makes even the most ordinary farmer or coolie carry something unique in his or her genes: A tolerance, an acceptance that god can take many forms, an innate philosophical mind, an understanding that there is something beyond us, beyond death.

Indian Christians are different from any Christians in the world, Indian Muslims different from any Muslims in the world. They would also lose.

Maybe it is thus necessary for Indians to see for themselves the harmful effects of Sonia being queen.

Only then will they realise that it is important to have an Indian at the top, someone who is in touch with India's ideals and spirituality.